Abstract
The text we have is a chapter extracted from a book written by Esping-Andersen. In this chapter, the author talks about different kinds of Welfare regimes and states the previous typologies he has already elaborated. He then tries to have a critical perspective on his work and interrogates about the odds of a fourth welfare model in order to make his typology more relevant.
The first part of this chapter is a reminder of the work he has already done before. In his opinion, we can distinguish three welfare regimes. The first one is the liberal welfare regime: it is based on the primacy of the market, the state is minimized, and risks are individualized (idea of "self-help"). It is characterized by a narrow eligibility, a narrow conception of social rights and an encouragement of the market. This clusters Anglo-Saxon nations.
Then, he describes the social democratic model which characterizes Nordic countries: this regime is State-dominated (creation of public employment) and is based on universalism (comprehensive risk coverage, high benefits and high eligibility). Private welfare is minimized in this system, egalitarianism is praised. This regime is also characterized by de-familialization. Eventually, he speaks about the third model which is the conservative welfare State, widespread in continental Europe. It favors familialism and local communities (segmentation) and it is also characterized by Etatist legacy. This system reproduces inequalities.
